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I Forge Iron

Horse Head Tools


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Hi,

 I have seen Brian brazeals video on making a horse head. It seems pretty self explanatory to me. My only issue is trying to figure out how to make the eye punch and nose punch. Can one of you tell me the steps in making these? Giving dimensions throughout in your instructions will help me a lot if you would be so nice to give them. I have spent a whole lot of time trying to figure this out. Knowing me I am overthinking and it is going to be something really simple. Thanks you so much

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If I remember correctly, in one of Gary Hustons youtube vids he makes a riveting tool (can't think of the correct term at the moment) using a ball bearing. I would suspect you could make a convex punch the same way to fashion eyeballs and a small dot punch for the pupil.

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Alright so I think I got the general idea of what to do for both. I am just unsure what the dimensions should be. Can any of you who learned how to make these tools tell me what size the make e tip of each taper for the Jose and eye chisels? Also, it looks like brazeal makes his eye punch a little bit oval, but not too much. Also, can you tell me what size round punch you use to make the divot in the eye punch? Thank you so much. If I remember I think that you made these tools Ethan Harty. Hopefully you see this post. Thanks

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You are a wood carver. Carve a horse eye and a horse nose the way you want them to look. Next get some modeling clay and put it into the eye and nose. When you remove it, you will have an exact copy of what that punch should look like.

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Alright. The nose punch I figured out the dimensions, and now I will figure out the eye punches dimensions tommorow. Just incase some of you were wondering, the nose punch should taper down to about 1/8" (3mm) before you start to file it. This is for the usual bottle opener sized horse head. Of course you can give or take a tad bit, but you don't want it too large or too small. I will let you guys know a good size for the eye punch tommorow. Thanks for the help

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  • 2 weeks later...

yes I did make those tools! do you still need some help with the eye punch? sorry for my late reply!

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 8:26 AM, Forging Carver said:

Alright so I think I got the general idea of what to do for both. I am just unsure what the dimensions should be. Can any of you who learned how to make these tools tell me what size the make e tip of each taper for the Jose and eye chisels? Also, it looks like brazeal makes his eye punch a little bit oval, but not too much. Also, can you tell me what size round punch you use to make the divot in the eye punch? Thank you so much. If I remember I think that you made these tools Ethan Harty. Hopefully you see this post. Thanks

 

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1 hour ago, Ethan the blacksmith said:

yes I did make those tools! do you still need some help with the eye punch? sorry for my late reply!

 

No problem. So basically what type of steel did you use? Also, the construction of the eye and nose punch. I know that you must taper them down first, but to what size at the tip of the taper? Also, what size ball punch do you use to make the eye divot? Lastly, do you round two edges of the eye punch to get an oval shape? Brian brazeals punch looked like it left a semi circle semi oval shape. Thank you very much, and any other tips you have on making them will be greatly appreciated.

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Keep your eyes open for a large nail set. They are pretty much a ready made eye. Big box stores don't seem to have a good selection of nail sets, but some of the "real" hardware stores, or ACE/True Value stores sell the bigger ones individually.

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2 hours ago, Forging Carver said:

No problem. So basically what type of steel did you use? Also, the construction of the eye and nose punch. I know that you must taper them down first, but to what size at the tip of the taper? Also, what size ball punch do you use to make the eye divot? Lastly, do you round two edges of the eye punch to get an oval shape? Brian brazeals punch looked like it left a semi circle semi oval shape. Thank you very much, and any other tips you have on making them will be greatly appreciated.

ok, so we used a steel similar to 5160, (coil spring). and about 5/8 is about right. first make a square taper, down to about, maybe 3/8"... but depending how big you want your punch. then in a vice, use a center punch to make the round part. finally, file 2 opposite diagonals round, and heat treat. alec has an excellent vid on forging a slot punch, and I would recommend you watch it because it shows you a really good way of heat treating!

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